How to Regulate Moral Dilemmas Involving Self-Driving Cars

With the promulgation of the Autonomous Driving Act in summer 2021, Germany took the worldwide lead on regulating self-driving cars. In August 2022, the European Union followed suit by enacting the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1426 which lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards uniform procedures and technical specifications for the type-approval of the automated driving system (ADS) of fully automated vehicles. This paper seeks to discuss the (non-)regulation of moral dilemmas in both Acts. To this end, it clarifies the role of the so-called trolley problem, which influenced the report of the German Ethics Commission as well as the independent group of experts on the ethics of connected and automated vehicles installed by the Commission of the European Union which paved the way for both acts in particular and the relationship between philosophical reasoning, empirical studies, and the law in general. By introducing the international legal community to the (non-)regulation of moral dilemmas in both Acts, the article critically reviews the status quo of the regulation of moral dilemmas incolcing self-driving cars. This will be preceded by a discussion as to why self-driving cars should be allowed as well as the moral dilemmas they cause which should be regulated by the law.